Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): The Minister for Communities to detail any steps he is taking to support museums in recording, cataloguing and preserving collections and community narratives.
Minister for Communities: The Northern Ireland Museums Council Small Grants Programme, funded by my Department, provides grants of £500 to £10,000 to accredited local museums for projects such as collections care, conservation, digitisation, improved storage, environmental monitoring and enhanced access. These investments help museums preserve and manage collections to accredited standards, strengthen community engagement and participation, and improve the impact and accessibility of their collections.
My Department also funds National Museums NI. Alongside the material heritage they are responsible for, the recording, cataloguing and preservation of community narratives is a fundamental aspect of their work.
Through oral history programmes, contemporary collecting and community engagement, National Museums NI deliver a range of initiatives that record, preserve and share community histories, personal experiences and diverse perspectives, ensuring that local voices inform collecting, interpretation and storytelling.
A more strategic mechanism for identifying, mapping, and supporting nationally significant items held beyond national collections is one of the potential considerations within the new Museum Policy.
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